


Boxes

by MamaBear7319



Series: The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [17]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Irondad, MJ is Awesome, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:53:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27134146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MamaBear7319/pseuds/MamaBear7319
Summary: She wasn't sure what to expect at this point. He had kept secrets for so long she wasn't sure if he knew how not to keep things secret.
Series: The Happier, Friendlier Timeline (2014) [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934734
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. MJ

They had returned from the compound with a training regiment as well as firm instructions not to engage with anything or anyone without giving someone a heads up. Each of them had contact information not only for Tony, but Steve and Natasha as well. All four boys were more impressed with the fact that they had Black Widow's cell phone number than anything. Peter understood the affect she had on most males. For him, she was more like a big sister. She always had been.

Between training and school, their nights out were limited to only a couple nights a week. Peter rested his chin on his hand and watched Davis and Johnny shoot paper footballs at each other. So far, Davis was ahead by two but Johnny had made the last three shots so he definitely had the momentum. Whoever lost had to cook dinner Sunday night. 

Peter had felt off all night. His Spidey sense was buzzing but not in the 'you're about to be attacked' kind of way. As far as he could tell he had three different levels. Level 1 was ‘someone is watching you but you're not currently in danger’. Level 2 was 'someone is watching you and they're planning to hurt you' or a general 'danger' warning. Level 3 was 'duck because you're about to get hit'. This was somewhere between 1 and 2. Until it ramped up to 2 he wasn't going to worry about it.

Wyatt had gotten bored with the competition. Gwen was playing pool with some guy. Wyatt had seen him around before. His eyes started traveling through The Odyssey. He always enjoyed people watching. It was generally the same people who showed up at The Odyssey which is why new people always stood out. "Whoa...". His eyes landed on two girls by the door. The taller one looked vaguely familiar and was obviously looking for someone.

Bobby’s head popped up at Wyatt's 'Whoa' and he looked in the direction Wyatt was staring. "Uh...Peter...she looks a lot like the picture you have on your phone."

Peter glanced up and froze. "MJ?" MJ was in Boston. Why was MJ in Boston?

"That's MJ? Holy crap. Forget everything I ever said about you needing to move on." The five boys stared in the direction of the door. Peter was completely frozen. His brain had shut down. As if it were slowly booting up again he started noticing things. Like the fact that her hair was a little longer. And it was completely down, not pulled back like she usually wore it. It kind of reminded him of the way she looked when they had gone to the ill-fated 2nd homecoming dance. He shook himself out of the mental reboot when he realized she had spotted him and was headed his way. Launching to his feet he met her about five feet from the table.

"MJ. You're in Boston." He breathed out the words in what he was sure was probably about a quarter of the time it should have taken to say them.

"I am." MJ smiled at Peter. In that moment she was absolutely sure that coming to Boston had been the right move.

"Why are you in Boston? I mean, I'm really glad you're in Boston but I don't understand why you're here...in Boston." He felt like he had probably said the word Boston a few too many times. His brain definitely was not firing on all cylinders at the moment.

MJ took a deep breath. "I wanted to talk to you."

"You drove 5 hours to talk to me?" Peter frowned with confusion.

MJ laughed, "It was more like 4. My friend Jennifer drove." She nodded her head in the direction of the girl standing next to her.

Peter looked over and saw Jennifer who, until that moment, he had been completely oblivious to. "Hi. Jennifer. I'm Peter." He could feel Wyatt stand up behind him.

"And I'm Wyatt, Johnny and Davis are playing table football, and that's Bobby." Wyatt pulled over two chairs and gently nudged Peter to move. For someone who normally processed things so quickly MJ's appearance had turned him into a slow moving turtle with apparent brain damage.

MJ grabbed Peter's hand and pulled him into a chair next to her. "So this is the Odyssey. I can see why you like it. It's not too loud."

Peter stared at MJ. "MJ?" He shook his head as if to clear it. "Yeah, this is the Odyssey."

Wyatt leaned between MJ and Jennifer. "What are your plans? You probably need somewhere to stay, right?" He smiled at Jennifer. "I am more than happy to sleep on the couch and you can take my bed."

"That's sweet." Jennifer smiled back at Wyatt. "We really didn't make plans past getting here, so having a place to crash would be great!" When MJ had brought up the idea of going to see Peter, she had offered to go with her partially because MJ would have had to borrow her car and her dad would have flipped if she had just let MJ take it but also because she and MJ had become pretty good friends over the last year and she knew how much MJ wanted to get things worked out with Peter. She would much rather have a roommate that wasn't pining over a boy, although MJ would never in a million years describe herself as pining.

"Consider it done. For a houseful of guys, we aren't that bad." Wyatt scooted a chair closer to Jennifer. "So I'm assuming you're at Princeton too. Are you pre-law like MJ?"

Jennifer nodded. "We have different interests. MJ's focus is on corporate law and mine is criminal."

"Perfect. You can be my defense attorney if I ever need one." Wyatt looked over at Johnny and Davis who had finished their table football game. "So who's cooking dinner tomorrow?"

Johnny scowled. "I am." He looked around at the other. "Any chance you all want to just head back to the house?" He rotated his neck and heard a distinct pop. Wyatt really needed to ease up a little on the training.

With nods all around, Wyatt reached over and grabbed Jennifer's keys. "Why don't I drive. You just spent 4 hours in a car and the streets here can be a little narrow in places." He glanced down at the key. "SUV?" After receiving an affirmative nod, he glanced back at the others. "Davis, Johnny, Bobby...you're with us. MJ and Peter can fend for themselves."

MJ and Peter looked at the group stand up around them and head for the door. "What just happened?" Peter looked at MJ in genuine confusion.

"Wyatt is quite possibly the best wingman ever. Plus, I think he might be interested in Jennifer." MJ stood up and pulled Peter to his feet. "Come on. We're apparently heading to your house." They walked out of the Odyssey hand in hand. MJ had seen Peter's car when they had gotten there so she knew where he had parked. It almost felt normal when she slid into the passenger seat. She had been in Peter's car more times than she could count. It had a certain familiarity, just like Peter.

Peter had given some thought to just driving around but it was starting to rain a little so he opted to just head to the house although he did take the long way. He was arguing with himself over what to say when MJ spoke up.

"So Johnny’s the fire guy and Bobby is ice, right?"

Peter glanced over at MJ. She had always been so observant. He supposed it wasn't a hard leap to make if you had a starting point...like knowing who Spider-Man was. "Yes. Davis can make wormholes. It's how we got to NY so fast."

"Handy. And Wyatt?"

Peter chuckled, "No special ability other than the fact that he landed not only one but five hits on Nat."

"Seriously? That's pretty amazing. Bet she loves having him as a new project." MJ shifted in her seat and looked at Peter. This is exactly what she wanted.

Peter turned down the street that would take them to the house. Even the long way wasn't long enough. "How's school going?" Even though they had been texting pretty regularly since Christmas talking to MJ in person was so much better.

"School is good. Dual enrollment was a great idea in high school. I'm enjoying my pre-law classes. I don't think I would have liked having to take all of the core classes."

Peter nodded in agreement. It really had been a great move. He knew Pepper had pulled some strings to make it all come together their junior and senior year. As a result they had all been able to start essentially halfway through what would have been their sophomore year. Shaving a year and a half off of a 4-year degree and then being able to test out of some of the classes meant they could technically graduate in 2 years. His dad and Pepper were already bringing up getting a master's degree or two which he would probably do. "Where are you thinking about for law school?" They had danced around the question in texts but Peter had never asked outright.

"It's a toss up between Columbia, Harvard, or Boston. Probably depends on where this goes." MJ smirked at Peter.

Peter smiled...there was the MJ he was used to. He hated that they were tiptoeing around each other. He pulled into the driveway and waited for the garage door to open. Pulling inside he cut off the engine and shut the garage door. "Where is this going?"

"Hopefully inside. I was serious when I said I wanted to talk to you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "So come on."

Peter watched MJ get out of the car. Sighing, he got out grabbed her hand and took her inside. She wanted to talk. The only conceivable place they could talk with five other people in the house was the roof or his room. Since it was raining he opted for his room. Shutting the door behind him he dropped his keys and wallet on his dresser and watched MJ sit on the side of his bed. He leaned against the dresser and crossed his arms. "Ok...talk."

MJ took a deep breath. "Peter...I miss you. I miss talking to you."

Peter latched onto the glimmer of hope. If MJ missed him there was a chance they could go back to the way things were. "MJ, I miss you too...".

MJ put her hand up to stop him from continuing. "Let me finish." She paused and took another deep breath. "After I found out about Spider-Man, you kept everything in separate compartments. You'd let me peak into your Spider-Man box if you thought it wasn't too bad or if you thought it wasn't something that was classified. But the longer you were Spider-Man, the more you kept things separate. After the Homecoming dance, the second one, it seemed like you were co-mingling your boxes a little. But instead of letting me in, you closed off more and more until all I saw of you was this little sliver." She met his eyes. "Then you pulled the crap about Africa and it was kind of the last straw."

"How is wanting to keep you safe something that makes you break up with me? You don't know what had just happened...what we took down." Peter was just as frustrated now as he was when she originally broke up with him.

"You're right. I didn't know." MJ looked around his room. It was pretty much the same as it had been in New York, maybe slightly fewer toys but she still spied a couple action figures propped against books and holding the power cord to his laptop. She focused on him again. "You know, other than the pictures in the paper and the interview you had to do, I haven't seen you in nine months. I thought maybe I was getting over you before that, but I realized I wasn't. Then Spider-Man showed up in New York during whatever battle the Avengers got into and I realized that not only was I not getting over you but I didn't want to." She took another deep breath. "When I saw you fighting...I just didn't want it to end up being too late and I didn't try."

Peter stared at MJ. "I may be more confused now than I was when you broke up with me. I don't know what you want."

"Peter...I want you...all of you. Spider-Man included. But not if it means you're going to keep me out of the boxes. I don't want just part of you. I want to know about the bad nights and the things you see and do so no one else has to. You know I know how to keep a secret so it shouldn't be a problem with the Avengers." MJ crossed her arms and stared at Peter. She wasn't sure what to expect at this point. He had kept secrets for so long she wasn't sure if he knew how not to keep things secret.

"You don't want to know everything. Trust me." Peter couldn't even process what she was asking. "I wouldn't wish some of these things on my worst enemy much less someone I...". Peter swallowed and wasn't sure he could finish the sentence. "MJ...you don't want to know."

"I do. I want to know what makes you wake up screaming so I know how to help you. I want to know what makes you get lost in your head so I can pull you out again. I want you to talk to me."

Peter stared up at the ceiling. Keeping things separate was how he ensured everyone's safety. Not just from the actual threat but also from the knowledge of just how evil people could be. Maybe if he gave her a look she'd realize she didn't want to know. He looked back at her. "The Africa mission was to take out a warlord who had gotten a hold of some alien tech and was threatening the surrounding countries. Only when we got there it wasn't just the alien tech. They were trafficking women and children. So when we walk into what we think is a weapons cache, it's actually a room full of terrified girls, some as young as 5 or 6 that had been beaten and raped. Or maybe you want to hear about the Hong Kong mission last summer where some terrorist brutally killed half of their hostages before we got there." He looked at her, tears threatening to fall. "Is that what you want to know? Because those things suck and no one else should have to deal with them."

MJ stood up, walked over, and wrapped her arms around him. "Yes. Not because I want to know about the horrible things but because you will eventually break if you don't let anyone in. My guess is that Tony is the only one you even halfway talk to. Maybe Steve some. But I know you well enough to know that you don't tell them everything. I don't want you to break. The world needs Spider-Man and I need you."

Peter breathed in the scent of her shampoo. It still had the same calming affect. "MJ...I don't know if I can."

MJ leaned back and looked at Peter. "I'm not asking for things to change overnight. I'm just telling you what I need. You need to decide if it's something you want."

"It's not that easy. What I want doesn't always happen."

xxxxxxxxxx

MJ woke up to a buzzing on Peter's nightstand. They had fallen asleep curled up next to each other, neither one taking the time change out of what they had on. They had talked, made what she hoped was progress, then fallen asleep. She looked over at Peter's phone and saw "Dad" flashing on the screen. She felt Peter shift next to her so she swiped to answer the call and put it on speaker. "Stark..."

Tony looked at his phone to make sure he had called Peter. "MJ? Why are you answering Peter's phone."

"Because she drove up yesterday and we spent most of last night talking and fell asleep around 4am...after talking." Peter added emphasis to the word talking. "Why are you calling at 8am on a Sunday morning?"

Tony fought back a laugh. This was exactly why he was calling at 8am. "Because Morgan lost her MIT bear in the lake and has been up since about the time you went to bed begging us to bring her to see you so you can get her another bear." He glanced over at Pepper who was currently twisted around in the passenger seat trying to convince Morgan that daddy was on the phone with her brother. "So we flew up and are currently about 20 minutes from the house. Just giving you a heads up...which you obviously needed."

"Talking dad...Pepper and Morgan are with you?" Peter swatted at MJ who was currently trying to stifle a laugh at how completely uncomfortable Peter was right now.

"Yep. See you in 20."

Peter rolled over onto his back. "Pepper will be here in 20 minutes." He yelled loud enough that hopefully he had at least woken everyone up. All of his housemates were terrified of Pepper. She had made an innocent comment on one of their visits about the state of the house after a particularly rough week at school. It wasn't that the boys were messy, they were just boys...and college students. But Pepper had this way of getting a message across with very few words. So now, anytime Pepper showed up, the house was immaculate. Which it wasn't right now. He smiled when he heard several expletives and scrambling.

"They're scared of Pepper?"

Peter turned his head to the side and looked at MJ. "Who do you know that isn't terrified of Pepper, present company excluded of course."

MJ pushed herself into a sitting position. "Good point. Let me grab my toothbrush from my bag and I'll help you all clean up."

xxxxxxxxxx

By the time Morgan burst through the door Wyatt, Bobby, MJ, and Jennifer were sitting at the bar in the kitchen drinking coffee after successfully tidying up most of the rooms. Peter had met her at the door and scooped her up as she ran full steam into his arms.

"Bear!"

"We can go get a new bear but they don't open until later." Peter stepped aside and let Tony and Pepper in, who had at least brought donuts with them.

Pepper crossed over to MJ and hugged her. She had always liked MJ and knew she could be good for Peter. She was glad they were talking.

Donuts demolished, Peter and Tony decided they need to at least act like they were taking Morgan to get a new bear since she was terrorizing everyone. They still had about 30 minutes to kill before the on campus store opened so Tony drove randomly through Boston with Morgan buckled in the back seat and Peter in the passenger seat. "So MJ? Are you two back together?"

Peter frowned. "It's complicated." He turned to look at is dad. "She wants to know everything. Every crap mission, every nightmare, everything. She said she wants me but only if she can have all of me. No more secrets."

"And you?" Tony knew how much Peter struggled with secrets.

"It's MJ."

Tony smiled. "If anyone could handle knowing everything it's MJ. I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea."

"Really?" Peter frowned. He hadn't expected his dad to think this was a good idea.

"It's good to have someone to talk to and it gives you the ability to actually get close to someone. That's not something that everyone has. Out of all of the superhero's you know, Clint and I are the only two that are married. And...to be honest, my getting married was entirely Pepper's doing. It takes a certain type of person to put up with us." Tony glanced over at Peter. "As close as Pepper and I are, there are parts of me that she doesn't see because she doesn't want to know about the bad things. If you have the opportunity to have someone who knows every part of you...you shouldn't dismiss it too quickly." Tony pulled into a parking space in front of the MIT campus store.

Peter sighed as he got out of the car. Reaching in and unbuckling Morgan from her car seat he pulled her into his arms and carried her inside to pick out a new bear


	2. Ghost From The Past

Peter's relationship with MJ was challenging. They both had school to deal with and they were so far away from each other. They'd talk most nights and would text during the day. MJ would ask questions and Peter would try to answer, sometimes failing miserably but other times opening up about past missions. MJ saw it as steps in the right direction. Peter wasn't sure what he saw it as. The team continued to train and Steve had even looped them in on a recapture of one of the escapees. They functioned well together and more importantly they were a cohesive team. They had each other's backs and they all knew it.

They were in a comfortable routine. School, training, repeat. Nights out at the Odyssey a couple times a week. They saw it as an opportunity to blow off steam and relax. Steve had called Peter earlier and mentioned that they might have something coming up next weekend and to be ready so the boys were using this weekend to their advantage, which meant Friday night out. Usual table secured, Peter watched his team...his friends. Johnny and Wyatt were playing pool. Davis and Bobby were in the first round of a table football game to see who would cook dinner on Sunday. It had somehow turned into an entire tournament that lasted Friday and Saturday night. Peter saw Gwen walking towards them with a guy he had seen in the Odyssey before. "Hey Gwen."

"Peter, have you met Harry?" Gwen reached down and grabbed a cheese stick out of the basket in front of Peter.

"No." Peter smiled. "Peter Parker. I think I've seen you in here before."

"Gwen talked about the place enough she finally convinced me to check it out at the beginning of the semester." He reached out his hand to shake Peter's. "Harry Osborn."

Peter froze. Osborn.

"Yes, that Osborn. I bet you can sympathize with how annoying the press can be. When my dad disappeared they were all over us. It's still hard.” Harry forced a smile and squeezed Gwen's hand. "Gwen, are you ready to head out?"

"Sure. Bye guys."

Peter hadn't moved. Harry Osborn. Norman Osborn's son. A son without a father because of him. He felt Johnny nudge him.

"You ok?" Johnny had walked over because he could tell something was wrong but he didn't have a clue as to what it was.

"Can you all get back to the house?"

Johnny frowned. "We can Uber." He paused. "You want company?"

Peter shook his head. "I'm good." With that Peter walked out of the Odyssey, slipped behind the wheel of his car and drove off. He wasn't even sure where he was going until he realized he was on the interstate headed home. Home was where he wanted to be. Where he needed to be right now. Too much was whirling around in his head. It wasn't until he was about ten minutes from deciding if he was headed into Manhattan or continuing upstate that he realized that he had no idea if his dad was at the lake house or the tower. "Karen, can you ask FRIDAY where dad is?" He had a brief moment of panic when the thought occurred to him that maybe his dad wasn't in either place.

"FRIDAY said that your dad is at the tower. She also asked if everything was ok."

"Tell FRIDAY I'm fine." Peter didn't know what he was. It would be close to 4am when he got there. Maybe he'd just go down to the gym and run until everybody got up. He was looking forward to seeing Morgan in the morning.

He pulled into the underground parking in the tower. Into his normal spot. At home. FRIDAY greeting him in the elevator. Peter wasn't sure how his dad did it but both FRIDAY and Karen had the remarkable ability to express concern in their voices. The doors opened onto their floor. The familiar hall that led to the bedrooms one way and the kitchen and living room the other. He wasn't surprised to see the kitchen light on. FRIDAY would always be loyal to his dad regardless of what he wanted.

He walked into the kitchen to find his dad making a cup of coffee. A mug of hot chocolate was already sitting on the counter. He took a deep breath and picked it up. He was most definitely home. He walked over to the table and sat down, waiting for his dad to join him. A few moments later he did.

Peter had taken multiple sips of hot chocolate before he figured out where to start. "So there's this guy. He's been at the Odyssey a couple times. I've probably seen him on campus some. I think Gwen might be dating him." Peter paused and took a sip of hot chocolate.

Tony patiently waited for Peter to continue. He knew this wasn't about Gwen dating someone. Other than family, MJ was the only other one that might cause Peter to drive 4 hours at midnight and arrive unannounced.

"She introduced him to us tonight. His name is Harry. Harry Osborn." Peter looked up at his dad. "A son without a father. Because of me. And I was okay with it at the time. Part of me is still okay with it because of everything he did. What does that say about me?"

"It says you're human." Tony put his coffee mug down. "Pete, what happened to Osborn was not your fault. He made choices to do the things he did. He stalked you, targeted you, tried to blow up the car that you, Happy, and Pepper were in just to get to you. He would have killed both of them to grab you."

"I laid a trap knowing that his death would be the outcome. I knew you would never let him live. None of you would have let him live. Hell, I think even Steve would have killed him after he found out what he did." Peter leaned back in his chair and looked at his dad. "I was ok with it. I don't have the right to take away someone's father just because he's a horrible person."

Tony studied Peter. Peter had always had a moral compass that pointed true north. Tony credited that to May's and Ben's influence on him. Peter certainly didn't get it from him. "Pete, regardless of what you think, you didn't kill Norman Osborn. Norman Osborn killed Norman Osborn. I know you feel guilty about Harry but you don't get to take responsibility for the whole of humanity. There are consequences to actions. Norman Osborn was already dead he just didn't know it."

Peter looked over at his dad, confusion on his face. "Dad, if I hadn't set him up, he might still be alive."

"No, the outcome still would be the same. The second he targeted you he was dead. Nat or I would have figured it out eventually. But that's not what I mean. The decisions he made well before you were bitten by that spider signed his death warrant. The people he worked for would have killed him eventually and the fact that he experimented on himself would have killed him eventually. That serum that allowed him to shape shift is unstable at best. The research that we grabbed indicated that it was messing with his brain. You aren't responsible."

Peter's response was stopped by the distinct sound of tiny feet running down the hall. "What time does she normally get up?"

Tony shrugged, "It changes. Lately it's been sometime between 4am and 6am. She definitely doesn't get that from me."

Peter braced himself for the tiny human that was about to launch herself at him. "I don't know...maybe it's just that she's a terrible sleeper just like you are." He caught Morgan as she jumped up into his lap.

Tony stood up. He didn't think he had completely convinced Peter but there was no way Peter was going to pay attention to him now. "I'll make breakfast." He glanced back and smiled at his son and daughter currently playing with a web Peter had shot at the ceiling.

xxxxxxxxxx

Peter had a lazy morning watching cartoons with Morgan. She apparently had several favorites. The mindlessness of cartoons allowed him to sink way too deep inside his head. Johnny had texted him to check on him which he oddly appreciated. Morgan eventually got bored with her cartoons and took off to find Pepper. Peter looked at Tony as he took Morgan's seat on the couch.

"Kid, you're getting stuck in your head. You aren't responsible for Osborn. I'm just not sure how to convince you of that." Tony looked over at Peter.

Peter turned so he was leaning on the arm of the sofa and pulled his legs up. "I just hate the idea of being the reason why he doesn't have a father."

Tony sighed. "Pete, you're not the reason. He is. You are the reason a lot of other kids do still have their fathers though." Tony could tell Peter was completely blowing off his arguments. He looked down at Peter's phone when it buzzed.

Peter picked it up and glanced at it. It was a text from MJ. "It's MJ." He tossed the phone back down and looked over at his dad. He wasn't sure what he was expecting.

"Talk to MJ."

"About this?" Peter looked at his dad as if he had grown a second head.

Tony shrugged. He knew MJ would level the same arguments at Peter and right now Peter needed to hear it from multiple sources. "Yes. She wants in all the boxes. This is a pretty big box." If Peter didn't agree to go see MJ he was going to take him out to the compound. Maybe Nat or Bucky could pound it into his head.

Peter picked up the phone again and typed out a text before he changed his mind. _“I'm in New York. Are you up for a visit?"_

 _"Yes. Jennifer is visiting her parent this weekend so I have the apartment to myself."_ Peter looked over at his dad. "How is this a good idea?"

Tony shrugged. "You have to stay for lunch though. Morgan was talking about cheeseburgers." Tony was actually a little surprised at himself. He had always enjoyed the close relationship he and Peter had. Part of him couldn't believe he was encouraging Peter to talk to MJ instead of him, but he thought MJ might be a little more successful right now than he was.

xxxxxxxxxx

Peter parked in front of MJ's apartment building and sat in the car. The drive was less than two hours but it was more than enough time to second, third, and forth guess himself. He sighed and got out the car. Walking up the flight of stairs to MJ's apartment he mindlessly thought that he was glad her apartment was on the 2nd floor. It was safer than the 1st floor. MJ pulled the door open before he knocked.

He walked in and looked around. He wasn't sure what he expected. It kind of looked like her but you could definitely tell another person lived there too.

MJ scrutinized him. She could tell when he texted that something was wrong. He actually looked worse than she expected. She pulled him over to the sofa and sat down, pulling him down next to her. "Ok...what's going on?"

Peter couldn't figure out where to begin. It had been different with his dad. The second he had said Osborn, Tony had known what the problem was. MJ didn't know anything about Osborn. It had been one of those things that went into the box labeled 'secrets'. "Remember during our senior year when my Spidey sense was going off all the time and I ended up out of school for a couple days?"

MJ nodded. "You were out for a full week." It was one of the many things that had started the downward spiral in their relationship. He wouldn't talk about what had happened to him at all. He had just disappeared for a week. She had gotten a single text that said 'I'm not dead'.

Peter sucked in a breath. "Norman Osborn was targeting me. He had figured out that his spider was what had created Spider-Man."

"Stop...no one but you made Spider-Man.” MJ stared at him until she was sure he had heard her. “You were on a field trip to Os Corp when you got bitten?"

Peter nodded. "He had been working on a super soldier serum. I'm basically Captain America 2.0 without the shield and some spider tendencies."

MJ hadn't heard the part about the super soldier serum before. She had known he got his powers from a spider bite. Osborn was also a new piece of information. "Ok. Go on."

"Remember the aliens? The Skrull and the Kree and how we never found the Skrull?" He waited for MJ to nod before continuing. "He found the Skrull and experimented on them and was able to use their DNA to create some kind of shape shifting serum. He used it on himself. He was able to shape shift but also turn into the creature that looked a lot like the Skrull. Really strong and a little nightmarish." Peter looked over at MJ to gauge her reaction. She was listening intently but so far was dealing with it ok. "I didn't know it was Osborn at the time. I just knew this creature kept targeting me. So I laid a trap. I knew dad and the others would be able to track me so I let myself get captured."

MJ sucked in a breath. The idea that Peter had used himself as bait pissed her off. But she was more bothered by the fact that it had all gone on and she hadn't even suspected anything. "Tony must have been pissed."

Peter chuckled. "Yeah, if you remember this was right after we found out he was biologically my dad which incidentally happen because all of this was going on. When I snuck out I left him a heartfelt video, told him I loved him and called him dad for the first time. Then told him to come find me. Nat said she had never seen dad look so shaken." He knew he was getting off track and he knew part of it was because he was stalling. He took a deep breath and looked at MJ. "I purposely let myself get taken because I knew dad would find me and all of it would end. I also knew that the person responsible would never be seen again. Between dad, Nat, and Bucky someone was going to kill him." He looked down at his hands.

MJ reached over and took his hands in hers. She thought she understood what was bothering Peter. "And you feel like you're responsible for his death?"

"I am responsible for his death. Me...your not so friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. I strategically planned out an op knowing the result would be someone's death."

MJ frowned. "So why is this bothering you now?" She could work on the fact that Peter felt responsible but there had to be more to it.

"Because I met Norman Osborn's son last night. A son who is still mourning his father because I arranged to have his father killed."

MJ looked at Peter. "Ok for starters stop being melodramatic. You're making it sound like you took out a hit on Norman Osborn. You didn't. You defended yourself."

Peter frowned at MJ. "I'm not being melodramatic."

"Yes you are. When Tony and the others showed up, did he surrender willingly and they killed him anyway?"

Peter thought back. "I was unconscious when they showed up. But when I woke up they were in the middle of a huge gun battle. Him and some of his security officers."

It was MJ's turn to frown. "Why were you unconscious?"

"Oh, he hit me a couple times with electricity to see what would happen. Incidentally, I don't tolerate electricity very well. My heart was out of synch for a couple days. It's why I was out of school for so long."

MJ took a deep breath and debated what to do with that information. If the Avengers hadn't killed Osborn she would have hunted him down at this point. She could read between the lines and figured out that Osborn had used Peter as a lab rat and that made her furious. But she also knew Peter didn't need her rage right now, he needed her understanding and probably some logic knocked into him. "So the Avengers came in and did what, put a gun in his hands and told him to fight? Where was Tony?"

Peter stared at MJ and thought back to when he had been pulled out of the lab. "Dad and Bucky were getting me out of whatever I was strapped down with and then got me out of there."

"So two of the three people who absolutely would have killed Osborn were ignoring him to get to you." She waited for the confusion to roll across his face and for him to nod. "And he had security people shooting at the Avengers." She waited for Peter to nod again. "And yet you still feel responsible?"

Peter frowned. She made it sound so logical. "Yes. If I hadn't lured him into taking me he might still be alive."

"Yeah. There's no way he'd sill be alive. He was responsible for the car getting hit when Happy got hurt, right?" MJ was cycling back through everything that happened during that period. "He wasn't going to stop."

Peter looked at MJ and blinked. "So you don't think I'm responsible for his death even though I had no problem with him dying."

"Peter...I have no problem with him dying. If he weren't dead I'd want him killed for what he did to you. But no, you aren't responsible." She reached over and pressed her palm into his cheek to make sure she had his attention. "He made choices that led him down a path that killed him. He hurt you, Pepper, and Happy. He chose to fight instead of surrender. His death isn't on you, it's on him."

Peter frowned. What MJ was saying made sense but he still had an overwhelming sense of guilt when he thought about Harry. "It doesn't change the fact that Harry doesn't have a father."

MJ shrugged. "Norman Osborn should have thought of his family instead of all of the bad things he did. If Harry wants to blame someone it should be his father. But Harry doesn't know anything about it, does he?"

"I doubt it. Nat thinks everything Osborn did was off book." The tension in Peter's shoulders relaxed a little. "So you don't think I'm a horrible person."

MJ smiled. "Peter, you could never be a horrible person. A little dense at times but we're working on it." She had noticed when the tension left his shoulders. He now just looked drained. "What do you want for dinner? We can order food and watch a movie. Unless you have another supervillain death you want to take responsible for?" She poked him so he'd know she was teasing.

"No, just the one right now. How about Thai food. I haven't found a good one in Boston yet." Peter pulled his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a text to his dad. He typed out a simple _"Thanks"_ and hit send. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Up:
> 
> Spring Break
> 
> Of course it doesn’t go well for the boys...


End file.
